Aaron Copland (II)

Copland's earlier works seem to invite classification—almost to classify themselves—by virtue of the composer's tendency to attack problems singly, and because the situations that evoked them are clear and definable. In the Third Symphony, written between 1944 and 1946, he is writing to a new specification. For a wider, but partly hypothetical audience, that must be presumed to include both experienced listeners, and a new generation, brought in by radio and recording; emotionally ready, but technically less well equipped to follow where the composer leads. “This is not a time for poignantly subjective lieder but for a large mass-singing”, Copland had written in 1941; by now, he was ready to make the big, all-inclusive statement, in terms acceptable to the unknown public, comprising both expert and casual listeners.